Stack Overflow is a site for the curious minds. It is a site to gain knowledge or solve various problems faced by programmers and even professionals.
Stack Overflow was created in 2008 by Jeff Atwood and Joel Spolsky. It has more than 16 million questions related to computer programming and answers to almost any bug that a developer faces. A brain hungry for knowledge will never be disappointed by this site. Stack overflow stands apart from other sites dealing with questions and answers due to its high quality. Stack Overflow is most popular among the Stack exchange network which also includes other Q and A websites like Super User, and Ask Ubuntu.
Currently Stack Overflow has more than 10 million users registered on their website.
Index:
Founders Story:
Before Stack Overflow, Experts Exchange was the first go-to forum for programmers. Despite having faced bankruptcy in 2001, they managed to resurrect their business under new owners with a few problems.
- Users were charged to read the answers. Most of them try to look for answers on Google, which would very often lead them to Experts Exchange. You may ask why? Experts Exchange did try a trick; it’d show the Googlebot the entire question and answers, but a regular visitor would just find scrambled answers, with instructions to pay to see the required results! Not a great experience, you’d say.
- Second, answering a certain number of questions would entail a free membership – some of those who went on an answering spree wasn’t exactly the best of their lot, thereby leading to a drop in the quality.
The iron was hot… Joel And Jeff simply chose to strike it!
On 31 July 2008, Jeff Atwood sent out invitations to his subscribers encouraging them to take part in the private beta of the new website, limiting its use to those willing to test out the new software. On 15 September 2008, it was announced that the public beta version was in session and that the general public was now able to use it to seek assistance on programming related issues.
In 2019, Stack Overflow named Prashanth Chandrasekar as its chief executive officer and Teresa Dietrich as its chief product officer.
How Stack Overflow makes money?
Stack Overflow major revenue sources include Ads click and impressions, Job Posting by other companies for the technical roles, Enterprise Services, and Affiliate Links.
In 2018 Stack Overflow for Teams was launched which was a private version of Stack Overflow based on the SAS model which provides internal communication and documentation for the company.
In addition to this, Stack Overflow helps companies build their brand and source technical talent through their business products. These services in turn help developers find jobs and also learn about companies in a way that is respectful to the user experience (no spammy email, no flash ads, etc.). They consider the developer experience in everything they do, which is what makes everything they sell as a company unique.
It’s a lot like questions and answers. Companies ask for good developers, and Stack overflow needs experts to answer the call. In order for this to work, they need people on both sides of the equation. The more companies and developers they have, the better and faster the matching they can do with developers and hopefully their dream jobs.
How much is Stack Overflow worth?
In 2010, Stack Overflow raised $6 million in venture capital from a group of investors led by Union Square Ventures and in 2015 they raised $40 million, and recently they have raised $85 million in a Series E funding round.
At the time of the series D funding round they were valued at $460 million and after Series E their valuation can be estimated at about $1 billion.
In July 2020 Stack Overflow raises $85 million by GIC and Singapore governments wealth fund in its series E round.
Competitors:
The competitors of Stack Overflow and their analysis are shown below :
Is Stack Overflow profitable?
Yes, Stack Overflow is profitable. Their SaaS product is making recurring revenue of about 27$ million and growing at a rapid rate of 200% a year.
Can you make money on stack overflow?
No, you cant make any form of direct money from Stack Overflow but it’s of the best website to learn programming skills and rectifying bugs and that can definitely help you make money indirectly.
Is stack overflow free?
Yes, its totally free. Although their SaaS product for teams and companies required to pay money.
It is worth mentioning that building and scaling an online community is a tricky business. The challenges are unique. The bigger a forum gets, the greater are the hurdles – controlling the quality of content being shared, keeping out spam, ensuring equal participation, sorting high-quality material from the chaff, and making sure that anarchy doesn’t rear its ugly head.
Interesting Facts:
- Stack Overflow has the largest userbase from Bengaluru (India).
- Stack Overflow dark mode is the most upvoted feature request from its users.
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FAQs
Can you make money on stack overflow?
No, you cant make any form of direct money from Stack Overflow but it’s of the best website to learn programming skills and rectifying bugs and that can definitely help you make money indirectly.
Is stack overflow free?
Yes, its totally free. Although their SaaS product for teams and companies required to pay money.
Is Stack Overflow profitable?
Yes, Stack Overflow is profitable. Their SaaS product is making recurring revenue of about 27$ million and growing at a rapid rate of 200% a year.
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